Once he had made up his mind on the perfect flowers, he got back into his car and made his way to the restaurant so he could wait while she finished her shift. He hated to see her working, but he knew that she needed a taste of independence and he was not about to take that away from her. Her strong will intrigued him and it was only one of the numerous reasons as to why he was falling so strongly for her. He was growing addicted to the gorgeous smile that always seemed to adorn her lips, as well as the sweet and innocent way she would laugh at something stupid he would say. He never thought that he could become so attached to someone in such a small amount of time, but he was beginning to understand that it only took a person like Emily to turn his life around.

His eyes narrowed as his vision became rested upon the frantic scene that was unfolding at the restaurant. There were many cop cars, along with reporters and people with fear and shock written on their faces. He felt a sinking feeling in his stomach as a cold sweat began to break across his face, causing him to begin shaking. His inner instinct was telling him that something was terribly wrong, but he was frozen to that seat when he finally put the car into park. All he could do with his scared blue eyes was watch as people frantically walked around, pointing to the restaurant and shaking their heads as if they were in disbelief. He needed to know if Emily was safe, but he could not make his legs move out of that car.

He jumped slightly when a cop knocked on his window, signaling that he needed JC to roll it down. JC took a deep breath before rolling the window down and clearing his throat. "Is everything OK, officer?"

"A young girl was kidnapped..."

That was all it took for JC's heart to feel empty and his blood began to run cold. "What was the young girl's name?"

"Emily..." was all the officer managed to get out before JC closed his eyes and blocked the scene unfolding out of his mind. His precious Emily was gone. He knew that she was a strong willed woman, but he also knew that she would be scared.

"Sir..." the officer said, bringing JC's attention back to the present. "I'm taking it by the pale look on your face that you knew the young woman. I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the car and provide us with any information that you might know of."

"OK," JC whispered before shutting the car off and reaching for his cell phone. "I need to call one of her friends."

"As soon as you're finished, I'll be over there waiting on you," he said, pointing to an area that was surrounded by men in blue uniforms. "Take your time son, and please try to calm down. We'll find her."

JC nodded his head dumbly as he watched the older man walk away. He knew that Whitney and Stephanie would be able to provide the cops with far more information than he could, but he dreaded telling them of what had happened. He was still in shock himself, how was he supposed to try and explain this to her friends and reassure them that everything was going to be fine? He glanced at the phone before closing his eyes as a mental picture of Emily appeared in his mind. He could see her bright smile and he longed to hold her in his arms and tell her that everything was OK. He wanted to protect her, and he couldn't.

He opened his eyes before focusing on the phone and dialing the number to Justin's home, knowing that he would be able to tell Whitney what had occurred better than he would be able to explain to Stephanie. "Justin? Put Whitney on the phone."

"JC?" her voice came to him, asking him an indirect question. "What can I do for you?"

"He found her, Whitney," he said, his grip on the phone tightening as he began to silently curse Riley for doing this to someone that was an angel on earth. "He's got her."

"You're not making any sense, JC..are you OK?"

"Riley has Emily..he kidnapped her."

"JC this isn't funny.."

"I know it isn't, Whitney. I need you to come to down town Orlando because I don't know that much about Emily and you do. The cops need information."

There was nothing but silence on the other end and JC could only imagine the thoughts that were going through Whitney's mind. "Whitney..you have to hurry and get down here," he said as he started to ramble off directions, hoping that they would be accurate. When he finally clicked the off button on his phone, he glanced over at the flowers that he had just purchased, knowing that he wouldn't be able to give them to her anytime soon. He just hoped and prayed that Riley wouldn't harm the girl that had a strong hold on his heart.

"How many times have I told you that you're a whore?" he seethed to her as he tightened his hold on the steering wheel. "You thought you could escape me, didn't you Em?"

She was silent. No answer that she provided him would make him stop orally abusing her, so she wasn't going to waste her breath. She wasn't the same Emily that he had known before she had left. She was a new person. She was stronger and she would fight him with everything inside of her.

"I'm talking to you," he yelled as he reached over and grabbed a handful of her hair that had fallen out of a ponytail during their struggle. "You answer me when I speak to you, Emily!"

"Let go," she replied calmly as she let her eyes fall on him. He was such a cold and uncaring man. "You're not going to accomplish anything, so you might as well let go of my hair or you'll have a bald punching bag."

"Why you little bitch," he said as he jerked his hand away and laughed in a tone that made her want to cringe. "You think just because you took a big step and left me, that gives you the right to talk back to me? That's your warning, Emily..you're to answer me in a tone without the attitude or you'll wish you'd never even thought about using a tone like that to me..do you understand me?"

"What are you trying to prove, Riley? Yes, you are a stronger person than I am..yes, you're capable of controlling people. Why don't you move on..find someone else to control..I'm not a puppet anymore to you, Riley. I'm not scared of you..you can physically hurt me but you won't tear me apart inside anymore. I can handle you."

"What did I tell you.." he said, raising his hand like he was going to strike her. "Don't test me, Em."

"HIT ME!" she yelled, not caring that she was openly inviting him to take away her defense. "I don't care..if you want to..hit me. You can hit me all you want but you won't stop me from standing up against you."

He slowly put his hand down before rolling his eyes. "I'll deal with you once we reach the cabin."

"Where are you taking me?"

"A place where no one will ever think to look for you...if anyone actually cares enough to come and try to rescue you. You're mine, Emily..only mine and its time you've come to terms with that."

"I'm not just some tangible item," she told him, letting her eyes finally look upon his face. If looked at from a distance, he resembled someone that was normal. "I am a human being, Riley. If you want to show that you're a master to something..get a dog."

He let out a chuckle before looking over at her, his hard expression softening slightly. "I have to give you credit, Em..that was comical."

"I'm not trying to be comical..I'm trying to be serious. How would you like to be treated like a dog? Treated like something that didn't matter..HIT ON ALL THE DAMN TIME...how would you like it, Riley?"

"That's enough, Em..if you're hungry there's food in the backseat."

She was utterly amazed by him. He could go from being the most selfish, hateful and unattractive person to being someone that acted as if he cared. She knew that deep inside of him, there was a man that knew the difference between what was right and what was wrong. She let out a soft sigh before crossing her arms across her chest and resting her head against the window. This was definitely going to be an experience that she would never forget. It would test her inner strength, along with her ability to understand the right thing to do. She could feel doubt entering her mind and she shut her eyes, knowing that she could not lose focus.

When her green eyes closed, she saw JC. He was standing before her with arms opened, awaiting her to come back to him at any second. She wanted to feel his strong, protective arms around her but she knew that she would have to wait. He was wonderful. He was the true definition of beauty. It wasn't his physical appearance, it was his inner soul that made him truly define beauty. She knew that JC would be fuel to her inner self...she could survive this.